1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a honeycomb body, and a method of producing a honeycomb body. In particular, the honeycomb body has a top side, an underside, a first end, a second end, and two lateral edge regions. The honeycomb body preferably has a flattened cross-sectional region and wound sheet-metal layers. They are preferably already coated with catalyticly active material. At least a portion of the sheet metal layers is structured. The invention further relates to a muffler with the honeycomb body for an exhaust gas system of an internal combustion engine and a housing having a top shell portion and a bottom shell portion which form a cavity for reciept of the honeycomb body.
Honeycomb bodies which have a plurality of passages through which a fluid can flow and which are surrounded by a metallic tubular casing are known for example from the published documents EP 0 049 489, EP 0 121 174, EP 0 121 175, EP 0 245 737 and EP 0 245 738. They show different basic forms of catalytic converter carrier bodies that are preferably used in exhaust systems of motor vehicle internal combustion engines.
Honeycomb bodies that have small dimensions for exhaust gas cleaning are used with small engines. Small engines are those with a cubic capacity of less than 250 cc, in particular less than 50 cc, and for example, are used in motor-driven saws, lawnmowers, or similar devices. Because of spatial restrictions, the honeycomb bodies often have to be configured in a partitioning wall in a cup-like enlargement of the exhaust gas system, with the cup-like enlargement simultaneously performing a sound-damping function.
Such configurations are known for example from DE 38 29 668 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,165. EP 0 470 113 also describes a honeycomb body that is fitted in a partitioning wall extending substantially perpendicularly to the through-flow direction. Features disclosed therein for small engines can also be used in the present invention.